HUNDREDS of jobs have been secured at East Lancashire’s Rolls-Royce factory after the firm agreed a £750million deal with a Chinese airline.

The tie-up with China Eastern Airlines was signed in front of David Cameron and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

Union bosses said the deal was an ‘extremely important’ order for the company’s Barnoldswick plant and would provide a large volume of work for at least a year.

The aerospace giant will supply Trent 700 engines to power 16 Airbus A330 aircraft as well as an aftercare package with the possibility of follow-up orders.

Blade sets for the engine are made in Barnoldswick, which has around 1,000 workers, and the order will mean 32 sets need to be made.

The deal is a major coup for the firm, which competes with companies like General Electric and Pratt and Whitney for orders.

The news is a particularly welcome boost in the wake of last week’s Trent 900 Rolls Royce engine failure on an A380 Qantas aeroplane, which saw the company’s share price drop by more than 90p, from 654.5p on Wednesday to 563p on Monday.

Unite convenor Jon Brough, who represents workers at the site, said it was a great news.

He said: “It is great news for the staff at Barnoldswick. It has been a bit of a bad news week so it is pleasing to have some good news for the site too.

“It is always good to have new orders coming in to the site, it will be a big boost.

“It is quite a large order and will be a reasonable percentage of a year’s work.

Mr Brough said the deal was further good news for the town’s workers after the firm received planning permission for a new £35million investment that would see its Bankfield base expanded.

Bosses say the exansion will create around 100 new jobs and reaffirm the company’s commitment to the area.

Last month the firm also secured a £245million with THAI Airways International to supply seven Trent 700 engines Deals were also won in August to supply other Trent engines for Cathay Pacific planes and Air Lease Corporation.

Coun David Whipp, who represents the town on Pendle Council, said: “With the new redevelopment going ahead at the factory this new order hopefully underpins the presence of Rolls-Royce in the town, and secures jobs at the site, as well as possibly providing new jobs in the future as well.

“It is good news for the town.”

Martin Wright, chief executive of the Northwest Aerospace alliance, said: “Any new order for aerospace is good at this time.

“This is particularly good for Rolls Royce after the problems with the Trent 900 they had last week.

“It shows that Rolls Royce are world competitors in engines. It is really good news and helps to keep work in the region.”

Steve Miller, Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace vice president for China, said: “We are delighted that China Eastern continues to put its trust in our leading-edge Trent technology.”

“We also look forward to assisting China Eastern in its efforts to reduce its environmental impact.”

China Eastern, which will bring its new A330s into service from 2011, was the first airline in mainland China to use Trent technology when it received Trent 500 engines for its Airbus A340 aircraft in 2003.

Liu Shaoyong, chairman of China Eastern, said: “We have found the Trent 700 to be extremely effective in service and are pleased to select it for our latest aircraft.

“We also look forward to working with Rolls-Royce.”

Yesterday following the signing of the deal the company’s share price rose to 607p.